Powerful pull of the run on Harbaugh

In Sunday’s game at Candlestick Park between the Buccaneers and 49ers, both teams will be in pursuit of power. The “Power” run play is a signature feature of San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh’s offense; the Bucs, behind 247-pound running back LeGarrette Blount, also used the play on Monday night to seal their win over the Colts.

The 49ers knocked the fight out of the Eagles with the play at the end of their 24-23 win in Philadelphia. They called it six straight times using the same formation and the same players in the huddle with two fullbacks and six offensive linemen. But that’s just one of many variations the 49ers used to disguise the play.

“It’s no secret, Harbaugh loves to run Power,” Bucs coach Raheem Morris said. “He finds all sorts of different ways to run Power with different people, offensive and defensive players and with different shifts and motions.”

The Power consists of two players, a guard and a fullback, leading the running back through an inside running lane. That’s it.

Harbaugh’s history dictates that if the other team can’t stop it, he’ll use it repeatedly. When Harbaugh was the head coach at Stanford, he used the play to brutalize USC in 2009 in the now famous 55-21 thrashing. It led to the famous exchange of “What’s your deal” comments between Harbaugh and then-Trojans coach Pete Carroll after Stanford ran up the score.

“The last drive of the game, we ran Power 12 times, in probably one of the most memorable drives,” former Stanford center and now 49ers practice squad player Chase Beeler recalled. Stanford ran it so much, several Trojans threatened to walk off the field if they continued to use it, including cornerback Shareece Wright, who’s now a rookie with the Chargers.

The play was a staple of Mike Singletary’s offense last year as well – in fact, too much. “Last year they would try to block our Power play the whole time, but we still ran it,” guard Mike Iupati said.

Iupati admitted that was one of the plays opposing defenses called out while the 49ers were down in their stances. This year, the Power has more variation. Iupati said his assignment changes depending on the defense. Last season, he just pulled and looked for the middle linebacker.

Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have the capacity to go to a different type of run if they find that Power is going nowhere.

“We have a lot of different dimensions in the run game,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “Power is part of it. It depends week to week. We are not going to be cookie cutter.”